Hung Up
by Iron Zombie
Summary: Skye is the kind of girl who loves attention, but certain events in her life have taught her that it's not always best to be in the spotlight. Highschool AU. SkyeWard.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

**Hey guys, I have yet again managed to (somehow) dig my little hole a little deeper. Well, that's okay, I like my little hole. It's like my own little world. Anyways, this is my very first romance story, so yeah... enjoy, i guess :)**

**Also, Skye is in the spotlight in this chapter, but it will be more even in future chapters.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of its characters**

* * *

**Skye's P.O.V.**

* * *

I walked down the unfamiliar halls of Samford High, my arms full of books for the new year. I had a map of the school grounds sitting neatly on top of the messy pile of books my arms were dying underneath. I walked quickly to my locker, wanting to be able to get to the office before classes started to collect my laptop. I suddenly felt my foot stop, and I fell forward, my books sailing through the air. Turns out some jackass thought it'd be funny to trip the new girl.

I stand up quickly and wipe my hands on my jeans. And then I realise that everyone was staring at me and said jackass was chuckling in the background.

"I was just testing gravity. No need to worry, people, it still works!" I announced confidently. That's the thing about me; I can always mask my feelings, like embarrassment.

I spun around to face that jackass. He was taller than me, a lot taller than me, and had messily styled dark brown hair and brown eyes. I stepped toward him and poked his chest. Boy, he was firm.

"You. Can't. Hurt. Me." I said, pausing to poke him between each word. I spun back around to pick up my books. A few snickers emerged from the students but they all quickly returned to their own conversations. There goes my moment of glory.

I stood again and continued my way to my locker. I flung open its door and shoved my books in there carelessly. I slammed the door closed and turned to walk to the office. I was going to get my laptop!

I normally wouldn't be this excited, but my last one stopped working a couple weeks ago. But that's understandable, considering I won it in a bet. That piece of junk was bound to stop working at some point.

I arrived at the office, and the secretary smiled at me across the desk.

"Name?" she asked me.

"Skye," I replied.

"Oh yes, the new girl." She bent down and pulled something from underneath her desk. Some things. It was a small laptop, its case and its charger. She passed them to me and said, "It's fully charged and ready to use for your first class. We've already activated your login. That's your username," she said, pointing to a post-it note on the laptop's lid. "And that's your password. You'll be prompted to change it when you login. Any questions?"

I shook my head. "Thanks," I said. I gathered the things into my arms and headed back to my locker to deposit the charger.

* * *

I sat in my first class, English, in the back row. Instead of listening and learning like a good girl, I was going through any and every file I could find on my laptop. I was getting to know it, which wasn't going to take long since my old laptop used the same operating system.

It took me about twenty minutes to get a basic picture of the laptop. I opened up the command prompt, but frowned when I found that it was blocked by the administrator. This was going to take a little longer than expected. I pulled up the notepad app and typed in a code using HTML and then saved it as a batch file. Then I opened the file and like magic, the command prompt was up, working.

I smiled in satisfaction. I began to type commands, glancing over the top of the laptop occasionally to make sure the teacher didn't suspect anything.

So you're wondering what exactly I'm doing? For a start, I'm basically trying to bypass the firewall so I can have the same permissions as an admin, and then comes the fun part. I'll gain control over Jackass's laptop to mess with him. He'll wish that he never stuck his foot out in front of me.

The words 'ACCESS GRANTED' flashed across my screen and I could see everything going on on Jackass's screen. He was researching guns, weapons. How lame. Don't normal guys look up pictures of half naked girls and play gory computer games?

Anyways, now the messing begins...

The first thing I did was pretty awesome because Jackass's reaction was priceless. I made a troll face appear on the screen and he literally jumped from his seat and he screamed! Well, he didn't exactly scream. It was more of a yelp, but you get what I mean.

A massive grin spread across my face and I had to duck behind my screen to hide it.

I watched as Jackass sat back down, his cheeks a burning red a color as laughter echoed through the room.

Once the laughter died down, I searched my brain for ways to mess with him.

I started opening and closing windows, just to freak him out a little. Then I blasted the worst pop music on earth out of his laptop (One Direction), just to embarrass him.

Lesson number one, never, EVER, mess with Skye.

The bell rang out through the school and I shoved my laptop in its case and was out of the classroom in flash. But someone beat me to it.

As soon as I walked out of the door, I was pinned to the wall...by Jackass.

"I know it was you," he said.

"What was me?" I said innocently.

"You hacked into my laptop."

"Ohh that! Yeah, that was me," I said with a grin. "You should've seen your face! You were like-" I demonstrated an exaggerated version of his expression from earlier.

He let go of his grip on my arms, and I let them fall limply to the side.

"Stay out of my way. Got it?" He said before turning ad stalking off.

"Not a chance, Jackass!" I called after him, waving and grinning.

What was his problem? I was just having a little fun, nothing to get all pissy about. Maybe it was because I ruined his rep? If I had, I felt very accomplished.

* * *

**Grant's P.O.V.**

* * *

"Not a chance, Jackass!" she called. I glanced back to see her grinning and waving. I could see she was enjoying this a little too much.

I turned back around and kept walking. Who does she think she is? She can't mess with me. No one messes with Grant Ward. I'm going to wipe that stupid grin off her face, and she'll wish she never stepped foot in this school.

* * *

The gears in my mind were working at full speed during my next class; biology. I was trying to figure out some form of revenge to play against that girl. What really pissed me off was that she wasn't in my class, and yet she still had full control over my laptop. She kept messing up my notes and screwing with the settings. She even set my background to be 'My Little Pony'. This girl was bent on ruining my rep in this school, but she wasn't not going to succeed. I made sure of it.

I quickly pulled up a word document and typed in big letters, "Quit it or you'll regret it."

The words were erased and replaced with a jumble of letters and the words, "Crack this."

I couldn't crack a freaking code! I put a search in Google for an online code breaker and found one that seemed legit. I copied and pasted the code in there and was met with the translation: 'Oooh I'm so scared! That the best you got?'

So it's one thing to mess with me, but a completely different one to mock me. I'm the king of this school; no one mocks me.

This girl had nerve, and I admired that, but she was going to get what she deserved.

I pulled up Google and searched up, 'Best revenges in high school' but then the word document appeared and the words, 'Seriously, you're googling how to get back at me? Rookie mistake; I can see everything', the letters appearing one by one.

Damn it! This ruined everything. Now I had to actually think my way out of this one.

I looked up and saw how to make an explosion using...god, I really should study.

Wait, wasn't I in biology? Wow, I was paying a lot less attention than I thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of its characters**

* * *

**Skye's P.O.V.**

* * *

I sat in my beautiful van, with my new laptop resting on my lap. I had to say, my first day in this school was one to remember. I heard a rustle just outside the van. It was probably just another bum. God, I hated when they came near my van. I guess that's what you get for parking in an alley.

I sighed. Life was so tough for me. I, a sixteen year old girl, lived alone. In a van. I shook my head to forget those thoughts. I chose this life, and besides, the Rising Tide is everything that I stand for. They're good to me.

I returned my focus to my laptop. I wanted to resume my search, but I had to bypass the firewall, filters and everything.

My fingers moved quickly, typing in various commands. Done.

I heard more noise right outside the van. Geez, why won't they leave me alone. I decided to go out there and deal with it myself.

I pulled the door of the van hard, and yet it glided very slowly. I stepped out and guess who I saw; Jackass. I put my hands on my hips and cocked my right hip slightly and stared down at him, waiting for an explanation.

"Um…" I continued to stare at him, my expression never changing.

"You live in a van?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I said with a smirk.

"By yourself?"

"Yup. Now, Jackass, why are you here, outside my van?"

"My name is Grant, not Jackass." I stared at him, my eyes begging him for an explanation as to why he was here.

"Um…"

I stepped back into my van and began to slide the door closed. "Goodbye, Jackass!" I called.

"It's Grant!" he corrected, just as the door at clicked into place.

That was a little creepy, I must say. I mean, it's not every day that a hot guy follows you to your… mobile… home, but I'm still a little creeped out by the experience.

I sat back down and pulled my laptop onto my lap and began my long search. I've been looking for my parents for a few years now. And I've gotten nothing. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. How hard can it be to find a single document on two people? There's nothing, not even medical records, criminal records, birth certificates. It's like they didn't exist.

I could feel tears stinging my eyes. Why did my life have to be so difficult? Why did my life have to revolve around searching for my parents rather than having fun with them? Why?

I could feel a tear slide down my cheek, and another, and another. I brought up my hand to my face and swiped the tears off.

* * *

**Grant's P.O.V.**

* * *

I crouched beside the window from the girl's van with my ear pressed up against it. I could hear a soft sob come from inside. But then it stopped… I couldn't hear a thing anymore, like serenity washed upon the entire van in a moment.

I don't even know why I was there. I had nothing to do with her (apart from the fact that she hacked into my laptop) nor did I really care. Or did I?

I suddenly heard footsteps on the inside and I knew I was about to get busted for the second time in five minutes. So, obviously, I did the only thing I could do. Run.

I scrambled out of sight behind a trash can, and watched. I watched the girl step out of her van, her eyes red and her cheeks puffy. Yep, she'd definitely been crying. She sat on the step from the van and wiped her eyes. Her brown hair fell in front of her face but she didn't bother to move it back. She just sat there, doing nothing. Thinking, perhaps.

I watched her carefully, what every operative is trained to do. S.H.I.E.L.D. recruited me as a junior operative and have stuck me in this school for surveillance. I still have nothing yet, and I've scouted out pretty much everyone already in the school, even the teachers, so now I was onto the new kids.

This girl, I really needed to find out her name. I've already searched through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database. Nothing. At all.

That's what really drew me to this girl, the fact that she legally didn't exist.

I watched her for a little while, but when she retreated back into her van, I decided it was time to leave. Besides, mom would be on my ass if I was late for dinner again.

* * *

I flung open the front door and Troy, my little brother, crashed into me, sobbing into my shirt and hugging me tight. I wrapped my arms around him like a big brother should, and looked up to see Alex, my older brother, standing at the top of the staircase.

"Why can't you just leave us alone?!" I shouted angrily. Alex snarled and charged down the stairs, fist ready. I shoved Troy away into safety, telling him to find mom.

Alex threw a punch, which I easily dodged, ducking down just in time. He tried again but I caught his fist and flipped him onto the ground. Alex tried to trip me, but I hopped over his attempt and laid on top of him, holding down his arms and using my body weight to secure his legs.

I delivered one blow to his head, one just hard enough to knock him out for a couple hours. I stood, wiping my hands on my jeans before dragging his limp but heavy body up the stairs. Mom was definitely going to interrogate me about this. No matter how good an operative is, he can never keep the truth from his mother. They _always_ find out.

* * *

**A/N**

**Sorry for the short chapter guys, but the next ones will be longer. I PROMISE! ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**

**Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, and sorry for the short length, I just wanted to get this out for you to read sooner. I've had this massive science assignment to do and a history essay to write (snore) so I've been spending little time writing. I know Skye's in the limelight here, but I promise the next chapter will be more focused on Grant. Also, please check out, 'Roulette', my newest Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fic, which is where the agents play the most random games of roulette ever. Anyways, I'll shut up now so you can read it :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or its characters.**

* * *

**Skye's P.O.V.**

* * *

I sat in maths class, fiddling with my pencil. I hadn't done any work, and frankly, I wasn't really in the mood. I've been searching for my parents for a year or two now, and I've come up with nothing.

My little visit from Jackass didn't help either. He could be a… a… a creep! A stalker! He could be a spy.

That though made me stifle a giggle, but I wasn't successful in keeping it quiet.

The teacher glared at me, "Skye, would you like to share with the class what was so funny that you had to disturb their work?"

"Um… no?" I said, more as a question than a statement. The teacher kept staring at me, urging me on to share my humorous experience. And I had to think fast.

"Oh, um, I just saw Grant over their pick his nose," I lied smoothly. The class, including the teacher, erupted in laughter and I glanced over at Jackass who blushed and sunk lower in his chair. Wow, he was easy to crack. I thought he'd at least protest since he didn't actually pick his nose or anything, but he seemed to retreat.

I caught him glaring at me. I smirked and his glare darkened. He still hasn't figured out a form of revenge. He had to hurry up, I was getting bored.

"Skye, Grant, back to work. I don't want any fights in my classroom," the teacher called. I grinned smugly at Jackass one last time before turning back to my work which, obviously, I wasn't going to do.

I spent the time thinking about what I could do to hopefully, possibly find something about my parents. I've got good hacking skills that the Rising Tide have taught me. I have those skills, so I should use them.

Let's see, I've already hacked into several databases and systems. I started with the police department. It seemed like a logical place for records to be held, if my parents were by any chance criminals, which they weren't. I also looked through a lot of hospital and dentist records, but there was nothing there either. Though I did find records of my check-ups and appointments, but no guardians were listed. How can a hospital not list guardians of a child patient? Something's not right, and I've known that for a while.

I've decided to step it up a bit, maybe have a crack at hacking government organizations; the CIA, FBI, ASA, stuff like that. Though I doubt there'll be anything in the ASA database.

The bell interrupted my thoughts, and I began to pack up, slowly this time. I really wasn't feeling up to it.

I kept my eyes trained on my things, but I could tell that me and only one other person remained in the room. Yep, you guessed it. It was Jackass.

He walked past me and accidentally on purpose bumped into me, making my books topple to the ground. He continued walking, not so much as sparing a glance.

"Thanks!" I called sarcastically. I sat on the floor and began to gather my books, but my arms just wouldn't do what my brain told them to. I just sat there. My head hung a little to the left, resting against the edge of the table. I could feel the tears were coming on, but I couldn't for sure say why.

* * *

**Grant's P.O.V.**

* * *

Skye, nice name. I'd have to run it through S.H.I.E.L.D. later.

I stood behind the door of the classroom, watching her pack up her books. Only, she wasn't doing much packing up. I watched as she brought up her hand and ran it across her eyes, as if to stop tears. This was the second time in two days I've seen her cry, and she doesn't seem like the kind of girl who did an awful lot of crying. After a few moments, she gathered her books up and headed out the door, and I needed to scram.

I jogged over to the lockers and pretended to be loitering like the other students, but I had my eye on the door the entire time. I saw as Skye left the classroom, looking happy, nothing like the girl I'd seen in the classroom only a moment ago. She smiled at passing students and headed over the her own locker, which was a few down from mine. So, naturally, I headed over to my own locker so I could keep an eye on her.

I stuck my head in my locker but I could still she her through the crack. She shoved her books inside and took out a small lunch box before slamming the door shut and heading over to the school library.

But food isn't allowed in the library… and I'm sure Skye already knew that. So, naturally, I followed her. Where is the harm in that? I weaved through the flood of kids while still keeping my eyes trained on the back of Skye's head.

I entered the library a moment after she did, and silence overwhelmed me. It was too quiet for my liking.

She walked over to the back of the library, the history section. No one goes there. Ever.

I walked quietly behind her and ducked into an aisle behind the one she was in. I held my breath and watched her sit on the floor and open the lunch box. She took out little pieces of paper - messages. I couldn't believe what I saw written on them.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**

**Hey guys. Sorry for the wait. I literally couldn't think of anything to write for Grant's POV, and that's why this is so short and why it's so overdue. Again, really sorry, and I'll hopefully be able to come up with something better for the following chapters.**

**Also, check out my newest Avengers fic, ****_What Doesn't Kill You_****. Here's the summary:** Mackenzie Barton is Clint's daughter. She lives a normal life, and that's it. Just normal… until she discovers that her dad isn't exactly a businessman.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or any of its characters.**

* * *

**Skye's P.O.V.**

* * *

I pulled out the little pieces of paper from my lunch box. I had printed the document and cut it up into pieces. Don't ask me why. I have weird logic.

It was a document- my profile- that I'd taken from the orphanage's database. It was long and I'd only found it this morning and didn't have time to read it, so I printed it so I could read it now. I put the little pieces together; like a puzzle.

First it had the basic information, like my name, date of birth and all that stuff. The section that said 'Original Parents/Guardians' had 'unknown' written beside it. I felt a pang in my heart and tried my best to keep away the tears. I was wearing mascara and it would smudge if I cried.

The later pages contained information on my records, like my behaviour and school results. A member of the Rising Tide was the last person to adopt me, and they gave me my van and taught me to hack. Now I'm on my own, and occasionally hack stuff for them, but mostly I do my own work.

I read on, and in the later pages, something just didn't seem right. I read the most awkward sentence over and over until I could convince myself that something here was more than it seemed. It was some sort of code. This was good, very, very good! I've finally found something that could potentially lead to my parents.

I quickly packed away each piece of paper, except for the ones that seemed to have the codes.

I got up and walked out of that aisle, only to find… Jackass. I've had enough. He's been following me, spying on me, and I couldn't take it. I don't care how hot he is.

I shoved him against the shelf with all my might, which wasn't very hard, but still. He lost his balance slightly, but managed to resist my (very weak) strength.

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Why are you spying on me?" I asked him venomously. He looked down at me and grabbed my wrists so I couldn't hurt him.

"Why did you have adoption papers? Those are classified," he said.

"That's none of your business," I hissed. I tried to move but he had a firm grip on my wrists.

He grabbed the lunchbox from my grip and went through each piece of paper. I had managed to stuff the coded ones in my pocket before he seized my wrists.

"These are yours…" he said after a moment or two.

"No shit," I hissed. "Give me the box!" He grabbed each piece of paper and shoved the lunchbox into my hands before walking away casually, as if nothing had happened.

"Hey! No, give those back!" I yelled, chasing after thing. I just can't have someone go through my personal stuff. He could ruin me if he knew about my past. People have tried to before.

* * *

**Grant's P.O.V.**

* * *

What the heck? I don't understand how she's from an orphanage if she lives in a van. Something is very wrong here, and I was going to find out what it was.

I read one of the pages. Under the original guardian section, it said 'unknown'. I can see why she's been in the database now.

I kept walking, and Skye kept trying to get her papers back. I couldn't do what I usually did when I needed information. I usually knock out or kill anyone who stands in my way, but I couldn't hurt Skye. She's just a confused girl who doesn't want anyone to know about her past. I get it.

"Please Grant," she said with a sniffle. She was crying, I could tell by her voice. And I knew she was serious too, because she called me 'Grant' instead of 'Jackass'.

I felt sorry for her. I really did. That's why I'm trying to find out her story. I honestly didn't think that she'd be able to find her parents from a van and from a school laptop, so I'm her best shot. If she could just let me help her…

* * *

I got my buddy from IT to run some searches on Skye, and her foster parents so far. I found nothing. It was still as if she didn't have an identity.

Apparently she was enrolled into the school under the name 'Skye Collins', but from all the information I have here, Collins is not her legit surname. She doesn't even have a surname.

I really did feel sorry for her. It must be tough for her, not knowing who her parents are. She always seems so distressed when I see her alone. At school she always has on a jokey smile and a happy attitude, but I knew better than that. Skye wore a mask, and I wanted to know who the girl under that mask was.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**

**I must be cursed. It seems that I am not capable of writing a chapter of decent length anymore! :( Anyways, at least I updated this quickly. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or its characters.**

* * *

**Skye's P.O.V.**

* * *

I sat on the makeshift bed in my van, trying to make sense of this code. I sort of half decoded it. It's an address. Not a home address, but an IP address. I was getting pretty excited, because this meant that I could hack into that system, and I would remain in the safety of my van.

After a good seven hours of staring at that piece of paper and writing my deciphers and notes on another, I finally figured the code out. I was right; it was an IP address.

I glanced down at the time on my laptop. It was two a.m.. And I had school tomorrow. I mean, this morning. Same diff.

Screw school. I was onto something here, and I didn't care if it meant no sleep for a decade. I needed answers. Answers that I've been searching for for years. Answers that I've been crying over for years. Answers that I was desperate to find.

Now that I knew the IP address, I knew exactly what I needed to hack, and that made my job so much easier. I was so glad that I ran into the Rising Tide. I would never be where I am today if it was for them. I would never be able to find out who my parents are and what happened to them if it wasn't for the Rising Tide.

I didn't care about covering my tracks. I just wanted into the system as soon as possible. After a while, I figured out who I was hacking. An intelligence agency called S.H.I.E.L.D..

I looked at the address again, and it struck me. The address wasn't just of the whole database; it was the address of a specific file. I couldn't believe my luck.

I searched through the database, stumbling upon a section named 'Level 8'. There was a subsection called 'Redacted Files', which was part of the address to the file I was meant to be looking for.

I quickly found that file I was looking for. It was redacted, so all the information was blacked out! God damn it! I kicked the table underneath me. I jinxed myself.

I saved the file onto the card I had all the other stuff I had found about myself, and then hid it in my bra.

My van's door suddenly flew open and I saw a guy… and Jackass.

"Hi," I said with a sort of deer-in-the-headlights smile. It definitely wasn't helping my case that I had S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database on my laptop screen.

* * *

**Grant's P.O.V.**

* * *

"Someone's hacking us!" one of the tech guys called. I stayed in late, trying to solve this Skye puzzle.

"Can you track it?" I asked.

"Yep…" the guy said. I gave him a moment, and he soon called out the location. It sounded vaguely familiar.

"Ward, let's go!" someone called from behind me. I spun around, arms crossed. Agent Phil Coulson was standing there. It had been revealed to me a earlier today that Coulson was in fact alive, unlike what Director Fury had led us all to believe.

I followed Agent Coulson out into a black S.H.I.E.L.D. car, and we sped off to the location.

* * *

I pulled the bag off Skye's head once she was seated inside the interrogation room. I walked back to stand beside Agent Coulson, crossing my arms.

"Sup?" she asked me with a smirk. There she goes again, putting on that mask. I kept a straight face. She seemed to get the point and lost that smug attitude.

I let Coulson talk to her. He didn't know that I already knew her, and I wanted to keep it that way for now.

I watched Skye's behaviour and little mannerisms. I wanted to figure her out. I suddenly felt a jolt of pain in my side. Truth serum.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"I'm sorry, did that hurt?" Coulson asked me feigning sympathy.

"No, it was just shock. No, it did hurt, but I like to mask my pain in front of beautiful girls. Damn, this thing works fast!" I rattled off. Shit.

I could see Skye smirking. She was enjoying this.

I caught Coulson leaving. But he can't do that! God damn it, Skye will be asking me a lot of questions.

* * *

**Skye's P.O.V.**

* * *

Hm, I could ask an incredibly hot guy from my school and who apparently is a spy anything I like. What to ask, what to ask…

Should I find out S.H.I.E.L.D.'s dirty secrets, like I planned to do myself, or should I take the time to ask about some embarrassing things about Jackass over here?

I'll take the latter.

"You seem nervous, Agent Ward," I said, calling him by his official spy name.

"I'm calling to mind my training. There's no way I'm gonna reveal classified secrets to a girl who's hell-bent on taking me down," he quipped.

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

"Yes, a few. High-risk targets. But they were terrible people who were trying to murder nice people. And I didn't feel good afterwards."

"And does your grandmother know about these things?" I asked. I really was evil.

"Gramsy?" Jackass's voice broke.

* * *

**A/N**

**Just a quick note, this will be one of the only scenes that I take out from the show. Most of it will be centered on SkyeWard, and the other characters will be mentioned occasionally. And these two will return to high school after this chapter.**


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